"Pitt arranged to bolt the Big East, too, for the ACC. In the new landscape, that means they left the sixth-best conference — if that anymore — for the fifth-best. The ACC's new TV deal ensures that all schools get $17 million annually. The conference looks stable now, but should any of its members - hello, Florida State — get nervous and rush to this Big 12-SEC party, all would go into flux..."

"The conference commissioners, university presidents and even the pundits flirting with a four-team playoff based on four conference champions are fantasizing. Imagine the litigation. Or even legislation. If you thought senators fumed when Utah or Boise State were snubbed by the BCS, just wait until someone tries to close the door permanently on dozens of schools..."

That theoretically ends an attention-filled two weeks or so for Pasadena attorney Okorie Okorocha, who rather than stepping quietly out of the media spotlight on Thursday instead chose to accuse his former clients’ new counsel of poaching his case, describing her behavior to CNN as "unethical and against state bar rules." Allred was not pleased, telling RumorFix she would see Okorocha in court if he didn't retract his "false statements."

"Why would anybody want to hire you?'' she told The Tampa Tribune. "You were 5-7 (last season).''

Not exactly the best possible press... But any coverage is good for branding right?

Available from the BigEast.org online shop no less...

Jim Boeheim, along with his wife Juli and Syracuse University have created this limited edition comic book to help support The Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation. The Adventures of Orangeman & Orangewoman tells the story of Syracuse’s rich basketball story and features the two superheroes along with everyone’s favorite mascot, Otto the Orange. This collector’s comic book has been limited to only 5,000 copies and is a must have addition for ‘Cuse fanatics. A portion of all proceeds benefits Coach Boeheim’s and his wife’s charitable foundation that strives to enrich kids in need that live in the Central New York community.

I'm all for protecting kids, but I'm more for protecting the rights, protections, and liberties enshrined in our Constitution...

Victims' advocates, however, criticized Fitzpatrick's comments about Tomaselli.

"Child sex abuse victims are, by definition, children," said Barbara Dorris, Outreach director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "So they can sometimes get details wrong, especially about time and place. It's premature and hurtful for anyone to assume that Bernie Fine's defense lawyers are right when they claim to have found exculpatory evidence."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/zach-tomaselli-claims-sexually-abused-syracuse-ass-t-bernie-fine-file-a-civil-lawsuit-article-1.988557#ixzz1fxbiYxKP

Syracuse, NY - Lawyers for former associate Syracuse University basketball coach Bernie Fine this afternoon commended District Attorney William Fitzpatrick for revealing information that undermines Zach Tomaselli's claims he was molested by Fine.

"We thank District Attorney Fitzpatrick for fulfilling his ethical obligations and look forward to reviewing these exculpatory materials.
"It appears now that there is proof that Tomaselli fabricated this allegation. The incredible damage that Tomaselli has inflicted on Mr. Fine cannot be overstated.

"We are hopeful that federal authorities will soon come to the same conclusion regarding Tomaselli's lack of credibility. Moreover, the notion that Tomaselli could be relied on to procure a warrant to search is alarming," lawyers Donald Martin and Karl Sleight said in a written statement released to the media.

"If Tomaselli is found to have lied to federal authorities, particularly as it related to the application to search Mr. Fine's residence, we hope that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," they added.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick will be holding a news conference on Wednesday morning to address the Bernie Fine investigation.

Fitzpatrick will speak at 10:30 a.m.

If AQ status is disappearing for all in the next three years... Id rather play basketball in the Big East, even without Pitt...

Big East Expansion: Boise State Among Five Teams Reportedly Joining Conference
by Michael Katz

Forget BYU, the wheels of Big East Expansion are turning with Boise State expected to lead a major conference realignment in 2013, according to a report from CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy. On Wednesday, the Big East will add the Broncos along with Houston, San Diego State, Central Florida and Southern Methodist University.

As McMurphy has previously reported, Boise St. was reluctant to join the Big East without a west coast partner. It looks like the Aztecs will step up to fill that role. As SB Nation's college football editor Jason Kirk pointed out, this "in a way, would complete the insane redistricting of a conference with the word 'East' in its title perfectly."

Of course, this is all about money. The Big East is a basketball conference but the ability to split the conference in half and host a football championship game would bring in dollars that could help prevent a Big East diaspora if and when the college football landscape goes into full-on nuclear super-conference mode.

Keep up with the latest news and notes on the conference expansion whirlwind, with SB Nation's comprehensive conference realignment coverage. And for more fan perspective on the Big East, head to our blog Big East Coast Bias.

Syracuse coach investigation faces challenges

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press – 1 hour ago
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Prosecutors investigating allegations of child molestation against former Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine face obstacles that include finding corroborating proof, statutes of limitations on old accusations, and the credibility of the men who accuse him of sex abuse, according to defense attorneys.

The 65-year-old Fine, who had been coach Jim Boeheim's top assistant since 1976, has adamantly denied wrongdoing. He was fired when three men made public accusations and ESPN played a 2002 recording of a phone call in which a woman ESPN identified as Laurie Fine tells accuser Bobby Davis she knew "everything that went on."

State charges against Fine are out. Davis is now 39 and his stepbrother Mike Lang, another former ball boy who also told ESPN that Fine molested him, is 45; both men say they were first abused as boys in the 1980s. Any crimes against them happened so long ago that the statute of limitations has expired. Davis went to police in 2002 but even then, it was already too late to bring any charges in New York.

That leaves a federal prosecution.

The U.S. Secret Service is running that investigation and it hinges on the claims of a third man, Zach Tomaselli of Lewiston, Maine. He has told authorities that Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room on a team trip from Syracuse. He said Fine touched him "multiple" times in that one incident.

The federal statute of limitations in effect in 2002 allows prosecution until the victim reaches age 25; Tomaselli is 23 so there is still a window to bring charges.

Lee Kindlon, a criminal defense attorney who practices in state and federal courts, said even though that federal case could proceed, prosecutors will still have to jump other hurdles including a lack of physical proof for something that allegedly happened nine years ago, and Tomaselli's credibility.

Tomaselli faces his own sex abuse charges in Maine and told The Associated Press Monday he would plead guilty to abusing a 13-year-old boy. He also accused his father of sexually abusing him but a New York State Police investigation that ended in September did not result in charges. The father, Fred Tomaselli, has said he thinks his son is lying about Fine.
"But these allegations are serious and I think the feds are doing the right thing and looking for proof to back up the accusations," Kindlon said.
Investigators searched Fine's home, office and school locker, looking for pornography that could be used "to sexually arouse or groom young males" to have sex. They took computers, cameras, disks and records, among other things. They're also looking for any records that would detail Fine's contact with boys.

Fine was fired on Nov. 27 after Tomaselli came forward and the tape was released.

Lawyers said the tape would probably be classified as hearsay and couldn't be used at trial. And Laurie Fine also generally couldn't be compelled to testify against her husband about anything he told her, though that marital privilege does not extend to what she personally saw.
Paul DerOhannesian, a defense lawyer and former Albany County prosecutor, said prosecutors still have some tools they can use: They can bring information and witnesses before a grand jury, which can result in perjury charges when witnesses are suspected of lying. That happened in the Penn State case involving a former assistant football coach and administrators, he said.

Syracuse University had its law firm investigate Davis' claims in 2005 and said the probe found no evidence to back up the accusations. The school was under no obligation to involve or inform law enforcement.
With the Fine scandal making headlines, authorities say other accusers may come forward but cases generally require more than an individual's statement. Without direct evidence, they could build a case around circumstantial evidence or indications of a cover-up, among other things, DerOhannesian said.

"Prosecutors will want to corroborate to the extent possible. That's really what an investigation is about, to corroborate an allegation," he said.
And federal prosecutors in northern New York, who claim a 98 percent conviction rate, acknowledge they usually bring cases they can win.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I mean, the lawyer is doing his job and his client just runs his mouth with the media undermining all his hard work...

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine man who accused former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting him admitted Monday that he molested a boy while working as a camp counselor.
Zach Tomaselli, of Lewiston, told The Associated Press that he sexually abused a 13-year-old boy he met at a camp in Maine. The boy is now 14. Tomaselli has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges but said he anticipates that he’ll plead guilty in Superior Court and that a plea bargain, which includes prison time, is on the table. "I don’t really see any other way at this point," he said.

Tomaselli, 23, became the third man to level sexual abuse allegations against Fine when he told police in Syracuse that Fine first molested him in a Pittsburgh hotel room in 2002. He said Fine showed him porn, fondled him and watched him shower naked.

Fine has denied any wrongdoing. He was subsequently fired by the school.

"The only thing that transpired was the same stuff that happened to me," Tomaselli said of his relationship with the teenage boy in Maine. "This kid has been through a lot because of the way I controlled him and abused him."
He said the plea bargain includes him serving three years in prison and registering as a sex offender for life.

Tomaselli’s lawyer was in a Maine court last week seeking to have his confession to police suppressed. Defense lawyer Justin Leary said the confession was coerced, and the judge hadn’t ruled on the motion as of Monday.
Leary declined comment Monday evening on his client’s confession to the AP.

Big East Expansion Update: San Diego State Looks Primed To Join Big East...

(seriously)

Remember when conference expansion was the big news in college sports?

Of course, ESPN said Syracuse was evil then too for its avarice in jumping to the ACC and foregoing traditional rivals USF and Marquette...

Is it really as bad as all this?

A coach at another nationally known program said last week that Davis' name has come up in the coaching fraternity as having had a run-in in the past with Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins.

According to someone close to the Syracuse program, Davis stayed with Hopkins, who has an agreement with the university to replace Boeheim when the Hall of Fame coach retires, early in his coaching career and allegedly did "steal stuff from him."

Asked whether there was any truth to the theft allegation, Davis says, "No, not that I can remember."

Hopkins, 42, did not respond to messages left for him. A former Syracuse player, he is in his 15th season on the coaching staff, is married and has a young family. Davis was still around the Syracuse program when Hopkins arrived as a freshman in 1989.

All three of the accusers have something in their backgrounds that may cause investigators -- or defense attorneys, if Fine is eventually charged -- to question their motives for coming forward. Davis owed Fine thousands of dollars, though his wife said in the phone call that he had no interest in trying to collect it. Lang, 45, is his Davis' stepbrother, giving him more reason to support Davis' story.

Apparently the move to the Big XII could spur Federal spending in Morgantown in the form of FAA funds to extend the runway at Morgantown Municipal Airport to facilitate use by larger aircraft.

WVU to the Big XII on hold in favor of L'ville? Or is this part of a clandestine Rutgers disinformation campaign?

BREAKING NEWS: The GOP <3 the KY

Bloomberg reports that Emperor Nero hinted at a NY based football conference championship game... Irony being they won't have a football team that is actually based in New York. Ahh, December in NY!

STORRS, Conn. — Paul Pasqualoni says he tries to ignore the building chatter that he could be a one year-and done head coach at Connecticut unless the Huskies’ season takes a dramatic turn for the better...

Apparently ECU plays basketball? Or is this football only? The Big East should be forced to include all sports for their new 'expansion' teams... Just think of all those new instant basketball classics... Rutgers vs Navy! ECU vs Seton Hall! Chair Force vs DePaul! Army vs UCF?